Childrens Book Column for The South Wales Evening Post Jan 9th 2016 from picture books to young adult fiction

Childrens book column South Wales Evening Post Jan 9^th 2016

This week my books include an inspiring and courageous dragon, a hungry bear, a feisty victorian maid and a mythological dystopia. An eclectic mix!!

BOOK OF THE WEEK

THATS WHAT WINGS ARE FOR BY PATRICK GUEST

PICTURE BOOK 5+

A beautiful heart warming story of Bluey the dragon who, unlike the other dragons, has floppy wings, weak lungs and soft fur rather than scales. Rejected by his peers Bluey sets off to find a dragon just like him. Inspirational to those not only with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which this book supports but all children who struggle to find a place in the world. It encourages them to find their own unique talents. Good for discussion about disabilities.

SBN: 9781742978291 HB Hardie Grant Egmont £6.99

5/5 stars

FABULOUS PIE BY GARETH EDWARDS

PICTURE BOOK 3+

Bear wants to make a big pie but what to put in it? He meets a succession of forest animals who make helpful suggestions of nuts, berries and fruits. Bear has other ideas however and would prefer to put the animals themselves in his pie! Full of suspense and mischief with snappy rhyming text and rich illustrations this will have a wide appeal and deserves multiple readings and laughs.
 ISBN: 9781407131467 PB Scholastic £6.99
5/5 stars

ANYONE BUT IVY POCKET BY CALEB KRISP

CHILDRENS 9+

Ivy Pocket,a twelve-year-old maid, has agreed to courier The Clock Diamond from Paris to England after being sacked for dunking her mistress's head in a bowl of punch! Dangers and supernatural mysteries greet her around every corner but Ivy is 'maid' for this job. A feisty eccentric heroine in a Gothic tale of murder and treachery that will chill you to the bone. A thrilling introduction to a great series complimented by witty illustrations.

ISBN: 9781408858646 PB Bloomsbury Publishing £6.99

5/5 stars

UNWRAPPED SKY BY RJURIK DAVIDSON

YOUNG ADULT 13+

This really captured my imagination as soon as I started reading it. I love Greek mythology and was entranced by the description of the minotaurs and the ruthless city  Caeli-Amur. The world Rjurik builds up is complex and battles with the storytelling a little but I loved the characters and their bid for survival. A very talented writer with a distinctive style. Definitely not run of the mill. For Tolkein and Pullman lovers.

PS. Adore The Cover!!

ISBN: 9781447252382 PB Pan Macmillan £8..99

4/5 stars